Friendly number 5

Last night saw us take on a great test for the team… playing one of our league opponents for next season and it didn’t disappoint for the spectators in terms of its competitiveness.

We were back at Milton again for friendly number 5. Tonight’s opposition was Croftfoot who play in the Strathclyde Evangelical Churches League (SECL), which is the league that Dennistoun Thistle AFC are looking to play in next season. This meant that the game was going to give us a little bit of an idea of the types of teams we could be up against and how we stack up against them as we stand. After the fantastic scoreline in friendly number 4, the team were going into this game high on confidence hoping to build on the previous win and build some momentum. Yet again the players turned up in their numbers with a squad of 19 reporting for duty to give the manager a decision to make.

Just 2 changes to the starting 11, and a same set up in formation as the previous game was how Thistle kicked off the match and it looked like it was going to pay off with Thistle taking the lead in the opening minutes from a fantastic strike from outside the box. However Croftfoot quickly equalised and with the scoreline back level it looked like it could be a game with lots of goals.

Thistle took the lead again around 15 minutes and at 2-1 looked to be holding their own in the game, but then Croftfoot really came into their stride and punished Thistle scoring 2 goals in quick succession taking the scoreline to 2-3.

With a bit over 15 mins to go until half time Thistle needed to try and keep their composure, but the 2 goals in quick succession had clearly unsettled the squad and through a few unnecessary errors and lack of communication between players by half time it was 2-5 and Croftfoot looked to be in control of the game.

A couple of changes and a team talk to settle the squad at half time saw a marked improvement at the start of the second half with Thistle starting positively and getting another goal bringing the scoreline to 3-5 which spurred the team on to chase for a win. It was end to end for parts of the second half – Croftfoot having some great attempts at extending their lead and Thistle trying their hardest to get back into the game.

All 19 of our players got a run out by the end of the match, so it was another great opportunity for the manager to see what he’s working with. Full time score was Dennistoun Thistle 3 – 5 Croftfoot.

Although disappointing to lose this game gives us a good idea of what we need to work on over the summer so we’re ready to compete! Onto prep for next Thursday’s friendly now… ‬

We’re looking to play lots more friendlies in the run up to the 2019/20 season beginning, so if you have a team that’s looking for a bit of competition then let us know and we’ll be happy to arrange something! (we’re keeping our pre-season schedule up to date on social media, so check and see if there’s a date that suits you.)

We’re also still looking for players, fans and sponsors too, so if you’d like to be involved in some way or find out more about the club then please get in touch by emailing dennistounthistle@gmail.com and we’ll be happy to talk.

Alternatively if you just want to keep up to date with us as the season goes on then why not follow us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram?!